Spraying device



March 20, 1951 E. o. NoRRls 2,545,488

SPRAYING DEVICE Filed Jan. 30, i946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 EDWARD O. NO/R/S IBY ,1

ATTORNEY March 20, 1951 E, o, NORRls 2,545,488

SPRAYING DEVICE Filed Jan, 50, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVEN7R EDWARD O.MORE/5 A TTORNE Y March 20, 1951 E. o. NoRRls SPRAYING DEVICE 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 50,

/NVEN7/Q EDWARD O. NCR/:EIS

ATTO/fP/VEY Patented Mar. 20, 1.951y

UNITED STATES ITENT OFFICE This invention relates generally to sprayingapparatus of the centrifugal type wherein.` liquid is fed by suitablemeans to an atom-iaing distributor rotating at high speed; whichreceives, atomizes, and projects the liquid in a finely divided spray,througha suitable opening in the apparatus, against the surface to besprayed.

-More specifically', the invention relates to. a portable centrifugalspraying apparatus of the so-called all-position type which iscapabli-io o-f being' operated at any angle.

The apparatus disclosed in this application is ay modifica-tion of theapparatus shown and described in my co-pending application Serial No.641,929, filed January 18, 1946. This application is directedtothespecific construction of the atomizing distributor, the generalobject of the invention being to provide. a spraying device which issimple' compact, light and eih'cient inY operation and which isespecially adapted. forv use by relatively unskilled operators.

Another object of the invention is to provide;

in a device ofV this character an improved atomizing distributor whichis of relatively simple construction and is efficient in operation-LOther andi more limited objects of the inven- I tion will be apparent.from the following. speci*- cation and the accompanying drawings forminga part thereof. wherein:

Fig. 1` is a partial central longitudinal vertical section through acentrifugal spraying device constructed accordingY to m-y' invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial horizontal section taken on: the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

' Fig.'3 is a partial transverse section taken onv the line 3-3 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line' IIL- ll` of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5l is an enlarged partial? central'` vertical section through theatomizing distributor; and Fig. 6 is al View` similar to Fig. 5 showing.a. modified form of distributor;

My improvedv spraying apparatus comprises generally a rotating openended ccllectingcase; into which the liquid to be sprayedis forced underpressure, and a rotating atomizing distributor Within the case whichpicks upY the liquid,- atomizes it and'sprays it out through the openend of the case. The collecting case and distributor are suitablysupported by aA housing` within which is vmounted a high speed motor andsuitable gearing by which the collecting Case and distributor arerotated. A handle by which the deviceis held 'whenused secured to thehousing.

provided for controlling the admission of liquid to the apparatus, andfor znoying the-distributor between operative and inoperative positions.

Referring to thev drawings more in detail,- the numeral I indicates amotor housing in whichfa'.y

small high speed series. type. motor, having an.

armature shaft 2., is'suitably mounted. The rear' end of the housing I'is. closedl by aremovablef 7cover 3, which when removed affords. accessto the motor and facilitates the: insertion and rei-` nioval thereof.

Av handlel e by which the' device is. held*` and. manipulated when inoperation, is rigidly securedv to the under side of the housing I`.

A gear casing 5 is secured to the forward and^ of the motor housing I:by bolts 6;( Securedr to,

and projecting forwardly from the face of theI gearcasing 5' isA atubular bearing stud 'l which* i ris disposed in axial alignment withthe.` armal ture shaft 2f. A sleeve; 8 having a spur gear 9' secured tothe rear end thereof' and a radially' extending concentric circularring. I0 secured? to:v

the forward end thereof' is rotatablymounted on the stud 'I' andisretained thereon by ar nut- II on the forward end of the stud 'I'.

The gear 9 meshes with a small pinion' I2 formed on the projecting endofA a shaftr I3 whichA isrotatably supported' by the gear casing and thefronti Wall It ofl thefmotor housing I. Se.'-y

cured to the shaft I3 Iwithin the gear casing: 5ir The gear I5 mesheswithI a# is a spur gear I5. smaller gear I6 rotatably mounted upon ashort shaft I-lwhich is alsosupportedby the gear casa` ing 5, enclosesthe gear 9i pinion I`2 and tl'a'e' sleeve 8.

A collecting case 2i) is 'removably secured `to the ring IU in anysuitable'manner. As'shown herein the rear. end of the collecting casel20' isfpermanently secured to a ring 2|v which i's'v threaded onto aforwardly extending annular flange 22 formed on the ring I'O; Thecollecting" case 2li, which is circular in' cross section,v flares'-outwardly as indicated at 23, gradually increas-V ing in diameter as itextends forwardly froml the ring l until it merges' With a torio-Shapedtrough 2li. The portion 25 of the collecting` cas'efv Finger operatedmeans are. alsov 20, forwardly of the trough 24 gradually decreases indiameter and terminates in a circular opening 26 at the forward end ofthe case.

A frusto-conical ring 21 is concentrically mounted within the section 25of the collecting case 2U, with its small end projecting through theopening 26 slightly beyond the forward end of the case. A cut-o flangecomprising a conical ring 28 similar to, but smaller than, the ring 21is concentrically mounted within the ring 21 so as to provide an annularspace 29 between the inner wall of the ring 21 and the outer wall of thering 23. As shown in Fig. l, the plane of the forward edge 30 of thering 28 is slightly to the rear of the plane of the forward edge 3| ofthe ring 21. Both the rings 21 and 28 are Supported by a plurality oflugs 32 which are 'secured to and project inwardly from the inner wallof the -portion 25 of the collecting case. A frusto-conical splash guardor ring 33 is secured to the inner surface of the ring 28, with itslarge end in contact with the inner surface of the ring 23 and its smallend projecting rearwardly within the case 20. The forward edge of thesplash guard 33 has a plurality of spaced notches 34 formed therein soas to provide a plurality of uninterrupted paths along the inner surfaceof the ring 28 between the forward and rearward edges thereof. Aringshaped open mesh screen 35 is also supported by the lugs 32 betweenthe inner wall of the case 20 and the splash guard 33.

The atomizing distributor generally indicated by the numeral 36 isrotatably supported within the collecting case 26 by a hollow supportingtube 31. The axis of the distributor is offset with respect to the axisof the collecting case 20, and is substantially perpendicular to ahorizontal plane through the axis of the collecting case, as viewed inFig. 1. rIhe intake end of the distributor 36, when not spraying, is inclose proximity to the annular trough 24 as shown in full lines in Figs.1 and 3. When spraying the distributor is in the position shown indotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, with its open end dipping into the liquidin the trough 24 and facing toward the peripherally advancing liquid toconstitute a rotating scoop.

Suitable'mechanism which is provided for supporting and rotating thedistributor 36 and for moving it back and forth between operative andinoperative positions will now be described in connection with theconstruction and operation of the distributor. y

The rear end of the Supporting tube 31 is rigidly secured to anoscillating member 38, pivotally supported as indicated at 39, withinthe bearing stud 1. The tube 31 extends forwardly from the member 38into the collecting case 20 for a short distance in axial alignment withthe armature shaft 2, and then it curves upwardly of and to one side ofthe axis and then downwardly as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The forwarddownwardly turned end of the tube 31 has rigidly secured thereto ahollow bearing stud 40 upon which the atomizing distributor 36 isrotatably mounted.

The distributor 36 comprises an elongated frusto-conical feed sleeve 4land a plurality 0f slightly dished rings 42 which surround the upperdischarge end of the feed sleeve 4I. The angle between the wall of thesleeve 4l and the axis thereof is preferably between 12 and 15. Thesleeve 4I is secured to an elongated axially disposed cylindrical hub43, by spiders 44, which is rotatably mounted upon the reduced end 45 ofthe bearing stud 40. The hub 43 has a closed end 46 with a squaredaperture therethrough. A short shaft 41. which is rotatably supportedwithin a bore 4a m the houow stud 4u, has a reduced squared end 49 whichextends into the aperture in the end 46 of the hub 43. A screw 5U and awasher 5l hold the hub 43 and the shaft 41 in driving engagement.

The rings 42 are secured one below the other in spaced relation, to adisc 52 by a plurality of pins 53 and spacers 54. The disc 52 is securedto a hub 55 which is rotatably supported on the upper end 56 of the stud40, between an annular shoulder 51 and a removable retaining ri-ng 58.The axis of the hub 43 and sleeve 4l is disposed at an angle ofapproximately 15 to the axis of the hub 55 and the rings 42, whichpositions the upper edge 59 of the sleeve 4l entirely within the rings42 and in a plane at an angle thereto. The vertical distance between thelowest point in the edge 59 and the highest point therein issubstantially equal to the vertical distance between the uppermost andlowermost rings 42.

The hub 43 of the feed sleeve 4| is connected to the hub 55 of the disc52, to which the rings 42 are secured, by a coiled spring 60. The shaft41 is connected to and driven by the armature shaft 2 through a flexibleshaft 6I within the tube 31 and the hollow stud 40. The hub 43 and thefeed sleeve 4l secured thereto are rotated by the shaft 41, and the disc52 and the rings 42 carried thereby are rotated in unison with thesleeve 4l by the hub 43 thereof through the coiled spring 6U.

The construction of the distributor 36 is such that in operation it willthrow out or spray a band of finely atomized liquid around the entirevperiphery of the rings 42. The spray leaves the rings 42 tangentially,and the thickness of the band of spray is substantially equal to thedistance between the uppermost and lowermost rings 42 as indicated inFig. 1. Part of the spray will be projected out through the opening 26in a segment which gradually increases in width after leaving the ring26, as indicated in Fig. 2. The balance of the band of spray isintercepted by the inner wall of the case 20 by which it is collected.and returned to the distributor for respraying. To secure the mostefficient results the band of spray leaving the cut-off ange 2B shouldbe substantially symmetrical about the extended axis of the collectingcase 23. The position of the axis of the distributor is determined bythe diameter of the atomizing rings 42. The periphery of the rings 42should be tangent to a plane through the axis of the distributor, andthe length of the sleeve 4I should be such that the smaller intake endthereof will dip into the trough 24 during operation, and the rings 42will be in a position to project a band of spray out through the cut-offflange 28 as described.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a slightly modied form of distributor. In thisform the outside diameters of the rings 42a are the same, but thevinside diameters thereof vary as shown. Otherwise the construction ofthe distributor shown in Fig. 6 is the same as that shown in Fig. 5 andthe same reference characters are applied thereto. In this form thedistance between the edge of the sleeve and the inner periphery of therings varies in a manner to obtain a uniform distribu.

tion of liquid to the distributor rings.

The tube 31 has a anged collar 62 rigidly secured thereto within thecase 20. A ring 63 having a peripheral groove 64 is rotatably mountedupon the collar 62. The ring l0, to which the case 20 is secured, has aforwardly projecting annular flange 65, having a peripheral groove 66,formed integrally therewith. `One end of a' spring' clainp-1 689 which"cooperates with=- the groove B4, and the other end`v thereofi is securedtothe 'a-nge' byl a spring clamp.` 69 which cooperates with the' grooves66. tions as a seal betweenA the: case 20 andi thel interior of thebearingstud 1` to prevent. any liquid'y carriedV thereby .to theinoperative: position shown. iii-.fulllines in.Figs.-1v and 8f..'Ihe-rod14 projects out. through the front wall of the gear casing. 5into engagement with a trigger 11 pivoted at 18 to a lug on the gearcasing. The trigger 11,.

which-- is somewhatA flexible below the point of engagement with the rod14, extends downward- 1y into alignment` with and a short distancebeyond the upper forwardly extending. curved end 19 of a lever 80 whichis operable. to control the opening and closingl of a valve 8|.

The valve 8| controlsl the admission of liquid to the' collecting case20. The liquid is forced, usually byair pressure, from asuitablecontainer through. a1 flexiblev hose 82 to the valve 8|. After passingthe valve 8|. the liquid flows through an upwardly andan. outwardlyextending conduit 83. in the handle 4, and thence throughr a tube 881,`the end' 85 of which is turned back upon itself .andr extends into thecollecting case 20 through the open forward end. 216'- adjacent theouter surface of the ring 21.

The lever 80, which is positioned in a slot 86 in the handle 4 in such amanner that the operators hand will n'ot engage it when he grips thehandle 4, is pivoted at its lower end to a lug 81 on the casing of thevalve 8|. A set screw 88 which extends through a tapped hole in thelever =80 in alignment with the valve stem 89, constitutes an adjustableabutment by which the valve is opened and closed as the lever 80 isrocked on its pivot.

In operation the operator holds the device by the handle 4 with hisforel-Inger around the trigger 11. The motor is energized, by means of asuitable switch not shown to drive the collecting case 20 at a speed of400 to 600 revolutions per minute and the distributor at a speed ofabout 12,000 revolutions per minute. The direction of rotation of thecollecting casing 20 and the distributor 36 is indicated by arrows inFig. 3. The trigger 11 is then pulled toward the curved end 19 of thelever 80 to shift the distributor 36 from the inoperative position,shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 3, to the operative position, shownin dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3. In the operative position the intakeend of the sleeve 4| of the distributor projects into the trough 24 asis clearly shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. Further pressure on theexible end of the trigger 11 will bring it into engagement with theforwardly extending curved end 19 of the lever 80 to rock the lever 80on its pivot and open the valve 8|. This will permit liquid to be forcedunder pressure from the storage receptacle through the exible conduit82, conduit 83 and tube 84 into the collecting case 20. Due to theparticular shape of the case 20 and to the cen- Theboot. |51 func--trifugali action: caused by' the: rotation of the; casey the liquid willflowI into the trough.` 24; Thel liquid will be carried around in-r thetroughu as.v it rotates. and will be: forced: by its momentum.y intoandiV scooped up by the. intake end ofv the.

sleeve 4| of the distributor. The rotation and shape of the distributorsleeve'and. the momentum ofi the liquid willV cause. the liquid to flowup the inner surface. of the sleeve 4| to the upper edge 59thereofwherev it. will be thrown radially outwardly by centrifugal.force, onto. the rings 42. The rings 42,. due to their high. speed ofrotation,Y will throw or spray the liquid outwardlytangentially thereofin a. nely divided atomized spray as previously described. As previouslystated,. part of this spray will be projected through thev open end 26ofthe case-20.4 TheV balance of the. spray will be caught by the innerwall of the case and will be returned lto the trough 24 for re-spraying.Part of the spray will strike the inner rearwardly flaring. wall of the.ring 28. Any' liquid reaching` the forward edge 30 of the ring 28 willbe thrown radially outwardly therefrom against theY inner wall of thering '2d and returned tothe case 20. The balance of the liquid strikingthe wall of thev ring 28 will be: returned thereby through the notches34. in the splash guard 33 and into theV casev 20..

It is to be understood that this apparatus is, adapted forpaint'spraying and also for atomizing. and spraying other liquids,y suchas a liquid disinfectant, and that the distributor sleeve may be fed byother. means than by the. rotary case as shown.

From the-foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in this art thatI have provided a simple and eicient mechanism for carrying out the`objects of my invention. It is to be understood that my invention is notlimited to the specific construction shown and described herein asvarious modifications can be made'therein within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a spraying apparatus the combination of a rotary case adapted tomaintain a film of sprayforming material about the inner peripheral wallthereof, an axially disposed opening in one end of said case, means forsupplying said material to said case, a distributor operative to receivesaid material from said case and spray a band of said material outthrough said opening, said distributor comprising a tube pivotallymounted adjacent one end thereof exteriorly of said casing andprojecting into said casing, a supporting member secured to the end ofsaid tube within said casing, a hub rotatably mounted upon saidsupporting member, a shaft rotatably mounted within said supportingmember, means for driving said shaft, a driving connection between saidhub and said shaft, a frusto-conical feed sleeve having intake anddischarge ends rigidly secured to said hub., spraying means encirclingthe discharge end of said sleeve rotatably mounted on said supportingmember with the axis thereof at an angle to the axis of said hub andsaid feed sleeve, a driving connection between said hub and saidspraying means, and means for controlling the admission of said materialto said feed sleeve.

2. In an apparatus for spraying spray-forming material, a distributorcomprising a rotatable frusto-conical feed sleeve for said materialhaving intake and discharge ends, and rotary spraying means ofsubstantially axial width encircling the discharge end of said feedsleeve with the n i axis of said spraying means disposed at an angle tothe axis of said feed sleeve such that the discharge end of said sleevesweeps across the entire axial width of said spraying means duringrotation so as to distribute said material across said band.

3. In an apparatus for spraying spray-forming material, a distributorcomprising a rotatable stack of spaced spraying rings disposed in axialalignment, a rotatable feed sleeve having a discharge end operable todeliver spray-forming material to said spraying rings and mounted on anaxis disposed at an angle to the axis of said spraying rings with saiddischarge end inclined across said stack of spraying rings with thehighest point of said discharge end registering with the uppermostspraying ring and with the lowest point thereof registering with thelowermost spraying ring to feed said material uniformly to said stack.

4. A distributor as set forth in claim 3 having a universal drivingconnection between said sleeve and said rings for driving the sleeve andrings at the saine speed.

5. A distributor as set forth in claim 4 in which said universalconnection comprises a spring interconnecting said sleeve and saidrings.

6. A distributor as set forth in claim 3 in which the rings are ofdifferent inside diameters and are differently spaced from said feedsleeve in a 1 manner to obtain a uniform feed of said material acrosssaid stack of rings.

'7. A distributor as set forth in claim 6 in which the rings of smallerinside diameter are located centrally of the stack and the rings are ofprogressively larger diameters toward the top and bottom of the stack.

8. In an apparatus for spraying spray-forming material, a distributorcomprising a rotatable disc, a stack of spaced spraying rings disposedin axial alignment secured to said disc, a rotatable frusto-conical feedsleeve for said material haw; ing intake and discharge ends mounted withthe axis thereof disposed at an angle to the axis of.4

said disc adapted to cause the discharge end thereof to sweep acrosssaid stack of spraying rings during rotation and disposed to feed thesaid material uniformly to said rings.

9. In a spraying apparatus, a distributor com-l prising a hollow bearingstud, a hub rotatably mounted upon said stud, a shaft rotatably mountedwithin said hollow stud, means for driv ing said shaft, a drivingconnection between said.

hub and said shaft, a frusto-conical feed sleeve having intake anddischarge ends rigidly securedv to said hub, spraying means of asubstantially axial width encircling the discharge end of saidv sleeverotatably mounted on said stud with the axis thereof at an angle to theaxis of said hub such that the discharge end of said sleeve sweepslacross the entire axial width of said spraying means during rotation,and a universal driving connection between said hub and said sprayingmeans.

EDWARD O. NORRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number' Name Date 888,091 Kestner May 19, 19081,506,226 Dick Aug. 26, 1924 1,606,142 Burrell Nov. 9, 1926l 1,667,745Smellie May 1, 1928 1,697,254 Webster Jan. 1, .1929 1,779,336 Riley Oct.21, 19301 1,846,716 Goehler et al Feb. 23, 1932v 2,063,048 Norris Dec.8, 1936 2,099,988 Norris Nov. 23, 1937

